Unravel
by pinkpetal34
Summary: Years after the war, Sakura was slowly moving on. However once she defeated the last bit of true evil, she was given a chance to save the future. She was going to change things for the better, no matter what. But, there seemed to be a blonde that took an interest in her, while she wanted nothing to do with him. And the more she resisted, the more he insisted.
1. Chapter 1

Unravel

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto.**

Sakura floated in a void of nothingness, as she tried to recall what happened to her and how she got here.

_ You're here, because I summoned you. _Spoke a male voice, that sounded like it was coming from all directions.

Sakura was confused. Who would summon her? Why would they summon her?

_ I summoned you to make a deal. One that will affect your past, present, and future._

Well, this was new. Sakura had never experienced something so out of the ordinary, unless she was with Naruto. Flashes of her idiot blonde rang through her mind, causing a huge pang in her heart. It had been five years since the war and the Shinobi alliance won, but not without a price. Naruto and Sasuke ended up sacrificing their lives to seal Kaguya away forever, this time. No one had seen it coming, because everyone expected Naruto to succeed like he always did and lead the shinobi world into it's final era of peace.

But they had been dead wrong. After Kaguya was sealed away, the tree had slowly begun to dissolve, releasing it's captured victims. However, Sakura and Kakashi had to confront all those people, with a dead Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto, all carried by a kage. Sakura would never forget the pure devastation on Minato's face, when he realized his son was dead. There was one thing a parent should never see and that's the life of their child slip away.

Regret had gripped at her heart then and there. Regret for not being able to console the older man. Regret for not being able to help Naruto or Sasuke, due to her lack of chakra. Regret for not treating Naruto better earlier on and for not treating Sasuke like a person, instead of an idealistic goal. Regret for not telling Naruto...that she possibly loved him.

Yes, Sakura had realized she had strong feelings for the idiot, when he was on his death-bed. She realized that what she felt for him was stronger than anything she felt for Sasuke and that as soon as the war was over, she would confront him about her realization and try to start a relationship with him. But, it would seem, she was not fated to, because right when she came so close, he was ripped away from her in the most brutal manner. Was it her fault? Was it because she was so selfish for most of her life? Was it the curse of Team 7 to never get a happy ending?

Sakura didn't know, but she did not dwell on it. Sometime during Kakashi's explanation on what happened to Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto, Orochimaru and Kabuto slipped away and the Edo kages began to fade. She was able to muster up enough courage to say to Minato, " I'm sorry." right before he vanished.

Things were a lot different after that day. When Naruto died, all the bijuu went with him. All the living kages agreed to a peace treaty in honor of Naruto and his wish for peace. No one was willing to reject such a thing at this point. Everyone returned to their respective village and tried to rebuild their broken lives. Konoha had never been so depressed. It felt like with Naruto gone, the sun was cold and dim. A statue was erected in his honor and the entire village attended his funeral, as well as the funeral for all the fallen Konoha shinobi.

Not long after returning, Tsunade had announced that she would be stepping down. With losing her entire team, little brother, lover, and the added stress of the war, she could no longer deal with the position of Hokage and ended up collapsing one day on the job, physically ill. She, along with Homura and Koharu, had several options on who would replace her. The first was Shikamaru, however he decided that he could not deal with such a position, take care of his grieving mother, and keep a hold on his long distance relationship with Temari, so he was out. The next was Kakashi, but it was not long after, that the man retired from the shinobi ranks. After losing his parents, first team, and nearly his entire second team, he could no longer handle the pressure of being a soldier. He had become a recluse and was taken care of by Sakura, Guy, and Yamato.

The final option, was Sakura herself. Sakura had automatically began throwing herself deep into her work and ninja training, a week after the funerals. She worked herself so hard, that she never had time to think about her shattered life. She continued like that for months, until she was stopped by a person, she had not seen in a long time. Sai. He had been there for her, when she ran her body into the ground, he had been the one to force her to deal with the abyss that was reality, he had been the main glue that kept her from breaking. She would be hauled up in her room for hours on end crying about the past and Sai would be right there with her, never saying a word, but keep a comforting hand on her back and being her shoulder to cry on.

They ended up getting a house together, along with Yamato and Kakashi. Sakura could not bear to look at her parents and neighbors eyes, that were full of pity. She would often go back to their house and have dinner with them, but her true home was with her teammates. When Sakura had first heard the news that she was being considered for Hokage, she flipped. Sakura had no right to such a position, no right for such an honor, and no right to take Naruto's dream. It had taken Sai, Ino, Kakashi, Yamato, Shizune, and Tsunade to calm her down, but it did not change her mind. She could never fill those shoes and could never bring honor to that hat, as much as it predecessors and Naruto had. So Konoha was at a stand still.

However, in the end she was convinced that it was the right thing to do, by none other than Gaara. He, along with his siblings, had come to Konoha after hearing about it's issue of not having a proper leader anymore. He had sat in with the elders and Tsunade, listening patiently and quietly. Once it was over, he went looking for the kage candidate, finding her in front of the memorial stone, tracing the names of her friends and loved ones. He had not said a word. He knew why he was there and Sakura knew as well, but he never spoke about the meeting, nor explain why Konoha needed her. Instead he asked her something, that had her freezing in place.

" You loved him didn't you?"

Sakura had been extremely surprised, but she answered him none the less.

" I don't know. I never experienced love in such a way. But...He was the most important person in the world to me."

What she got in return was what made her become the Hokage.

" Then, do it for him."

So she became Konohagakure's official Rokudaime Hokage. She spent most her time in the office, with Sai at her right and Shikamaru at her left. The Nara had said, he could only be one person's right hand and Sakura never pressed the issue. That had been nearly a year after the war and slowly Konoha was coming to life, but it would never be what it once was. The Leaf village had lost so many icons, so many lives, and so much hope, that it was a miracle the village was standing. But Sakura made sure it did, in honor of Naruto. She had torn down the Uchiha district, except for the main house, which was repaired and would be cleaned every month. She wanted to leave something of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans and something for Sasuke.

She had lived day to day, never forgetting the past, but forcing herself to look at the future. Four peaceful recovery years went by, until an old enemy reared it's ugly head. Orochimaru had appeared with new allies, looking to control the nations and divide them, but they were met with resistance. Konoha fought, Suna fought, Kiri fought, Iwa fought, and Kumo fought. They were not going to make the same mistakes they did in the past, they fought together to make sure they would not end up in the same situation as before. It was the final stretch and Sakura was battling a mutated Orochimaru, right as she landed the finishing blow, she felt her body get encased by a warm light, then vanish.

_So you remember now._

Sakura opened her eyes and looked around, but all she could see was white. " You brought me here. Why?"

_I wanted to give you an option._

"An option? Why me and why now?"

" The option was originally suppose to go to the hero that vanquished all evil. I believed it would have been the Uzumaki boy, but he died." Sakura winced." Since you are the one, who killed Orochimaru, ending the last bit of true evil in the world, I will give you this. If you choose to, you may go back to the past, to keep this future from ever coming into existence. I could send you back in time, as you are now, and you could change things."

Sakura could not believe her ears. Time travel was so preposterous. But even thinking this, a part of Sakura, the part that has been dead for years, seemed to come to life at the thought of changing things, making things better, and rewriting history.

" But why offer such a gift?" No matter what she was a cautious kage. When she became Hokage and looked through all of it's hidden history, she was amazed at how Konoha's biggest blunders were all slowly built up over time, just because they were over looked. Danzo and his activities is what led Nagato to turning Akatsuki into a criminal organization and helped Orochimaru experiment on innocent people. The third's lack of effort sooner, caused the Uchihas to drift father away from Konoha, until they were ready to rebel. The fact that Konoha never tried to reach out to the other villages, like the Shodaime did, didn't help mend the rifts that were created. Sakura was not about so rush into anything, without thinking it through.

_It is to fix a past mistake. We allowed one man to continue living, even when his clock stopped, because we thought the world would be fine. But, the world took a turn for the worst, when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and killed the Yondaime. I could not come in contact with a human, until all pure evil was removed from the world, even if only temporarily, but now I can. __Will you go back, to before you even existed and try to change the future, knowing that there was no turning back? Or do you wish to return to your present and live your already created path? _

Sakura thought for a long time, weighing the pros and cons. Pros, she could fix the future, keep people alive, create a happier ending and see her loved ones again. Cons, she would need to leave behind her life, would never be in the same relationship with the people in her life now, and would be most likely alone in her quest. It was a tough decision, but Sakura knew what she had to do.

" Send me back to the past."

A tingling feeling appeared on her forehead, right where her seal was, before she felt the same warm light encase her.

_Good luck, Haruno Sakura. Naruto was a hero, who will be rewarded for his past sacrifices, but do be careful of the changes that have already begun to occur, with unraveling time._

* * *

Sarutobi stared at the young woman before him. He had to take long drawn out puffs of his pipe, just to calm himself down and take in the information he had just seen, via her memories. He glanced over at Inoichi and Shikaku and noticed they seemed to be in similar states of disbelief, but since Inoichi confirmed her memories were real, all three men knew there was no doubt her story was real.

" So, you plan on trying to change the future, as much as possible?" he asked the young woman, who had been through so much in her short life.

" Yes. I would like to try and stop individuals from turning dark and get rid of the ones, who already are and will play a role in Konoha's downfall. However, I do not wish to come into much contact with the people here, for my sanity and for the sake of the future." she replied politely. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that the Sandaime was alive, younger, and sitting in the Hokage's chair again.

" If that is your wish, I will move you into an apartment not so close to others and try to make sure you take mostly solo missions. Given who you once were, I will give you the rank of my personal ANBU. Only few have such a rank, so it would not surprise people in the ninja world that you seem to show up out of nowhere, considering I assign my ANBU to long term missions and try to keep them as much a secret as possible. Now, as the successor of Tsunade, I would like you to take up work in the hospital, considering that ever since Tsunade left, the place has been at a stand still."

Sakura nodded. She would not mind working in a familiar setting, it would help her adapt to the past a little easier.

" Shikaku, Inoichi, I trust you know this information is never to leave this room. If there are those who question Sakura's loyalty and sudden appearance, try to persuade them into belief, we can not have people investigating her. Also, I will possibly have you two drop by here, if I ever need to discuss the best course of action on an up coming event, however, you must not speak a word of this in any place that is not confidential. Dismissed." both men bowed their heads in respect, before leaving.

The Hokage, then turned to Sakura." Based on your memories, I should tell you that several things are different already. For starters, Orochimaru defected from Konoha five years ago. He was caught experimenting on some children, but escaped before our forces could detain him." Sakura nodded. She was not sure where he could be now, but she knew it would not be safe to leave the man on his own.

" The other thing is something I'm not sure you'll be okay with after hearing." She furrowed her brows at that, what could be so bad, that would cause her to freak out." Minato and Kushina are not together." she froze in place." I'm not sure about the details, but I do know that they are just friends and that there's a possibility that there's someone else for Kushina." he took a breath, before looking Sakura dead in the eyes." Do not try to force what is not there, messing with people's lives to suit your needs will only hurt you and them." Sakura's eyes widened at his words.

" I am truly sorry, but I will do my best to aid you, should you need my help." apologized the man Sakura always thought was a kind old grandfather figure. Though he was kind, he was also an experienced ninja and would most likely be watching her.

Sakura rose, with as much strength as possible and retrieved the apartment key and money sack, that was placed on Hiruzen's desk. She bowed before disappearing in her name's sake, not having enough strength to walk through Konoha.

Once she was in her somewhat empty apartment, she collapsed on her bed, not bothering to shower or remove her clothes. She silently wonder what she was suppose to do now and prayed that her loved ones were watching over her.

* * *

So, I have decided to make this story, because I feel like my story 'Blossom's New Bloom', is not going the way I would like it. I was so heavily influenced by the other MinaSaku fanfics, that mine just doesn't feel like it's my own.( Though I know there are bound to be some similarities.) Nor can I write scenes a certain way, because of it's set up, which is why I am discontinuing 'BNB' for this new story.

This story will be different and most likely, will not resemble 'BNB'. However, I hope you will enjoy this version better.


	2. Chapter 2

Unravel

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto**

Sakura woke up with a start. Sweat was pouring down her body and she was panting at the memories of war. For a long time, her dreams would be plagued with war, past battles, and death of comrades. She instinctively reached out to her left, where Sai would usually be, to comfort her, only to realized that he could not possibly be there. She silently shook and tried to will herself not to cry, not to be weak, because the future needed her, Konoha needed her, and Naruto needed her.

Knowing that her blonde might not be born had sent her into a restless sleep, but the final words from the one who sent her back are the only reason, she's not collapsed in a ditch somewhere waiting to die. He said that Naruto would be rewarded for his sacrifices and for that to happen, he would need to be born. Even if there was a possibility the man was talking about rewarding Naruto in the afterlife, Sakura still clung to the hope that it meant he would somehow be born and be able to grow up with a real family.

She looked over at her nightstand, where a basic alarm clock was and saw that it was nearing five AM. Knowing that going to sleep now would be pointless, she got up and opened up the drawers to find two standard jounin uniforms and undergarments. Not too thrilled at the thought of how the Sandaime had got a hold of these and when they were dropped off, she pushed those thoughts away and went into the bathroom for a shower. The cold water cooled her off, before she switched it to warm to relax a little.

Konoha would not be waking up for another two hours, with the exception of a few stray ninjas, so she decided to get dressed and go to a secluded training field and get some practice in. When she finished her shower and began drying her hair, Sakura paused when she got a look at her face, or more specifically her forehead. Her seal was still there, but it was different. The thick rhombus was no longer solely purple, it now was outlined in a light blue, that resembled the color of chakra.

_'This must be the result of what that feeling in my forehead was, before I was sent back. I never noticed it till now, it feels as though I have a set of chakra reserves separate from my byakugo seal all together. I wonder what it would be like to tap into it.'_ Sakura mused as she finished getting dressed.

She looked at herself in the mirror and instantly disliked the outfit. It reminded her of bad times, times she wished to forget, but was too scared to not remember. She sighed, as she tied her long hair into a braid. After becoming Hokage, Sakura thought it was time for another change, keeping her hair short was no longer a necessity, plus her long lower back length hair, brought back memories. Memories of simple times, that feel a lifetime away. Ino was happily surprised that she would no longer be cutting her hair and others didn't really mention it, but were happy to accept the change. They all had changed.

Ino had began to work harder as a kunoichi and learn more about her clan. Shikamaru immediately got to work on becoming Konoha's number one tactician, after he was sure his mom would be okay. Chouji worked closely with his dad, who also tried to be there for his late friends kids. Hinata went into a long depression after loosing Neji and Naruto, but her sister and surprisingly her father were there to pick her back up and she began to put all her effort into being a good heiress for the clan. Kiba worked with his mother and sister to better understand his own family and Shino surprisingly worked hard to become an ANBU member, not wanting to become head of his family until he felt ready. Lee and Guy, after he spent months in the hospital recovery, became a fearsome duo and rouge ninjas did not enjoy their encounters with the two oddballs. Tenten remained a jounin and took missions, but mainly focused on her families weapons shop. She wanted to create the finest weapons ever seen and make a name for herself.

No one was left unaffected by the war, but everyone was working hard to piece each other together and make a better future. Civilians and ninja, young and old, male and female, they all worked to reestablish their village and would not forget such an amazing, yet sad sight. Only when we lost nearly everything could we finally come together. Even with people living their day to day lives, no one forgot the past, the war, the people who sacrificed their lives for a brighter future.

Hopefully this time around, things would be different.

Sakura didn't realize she had made it to the training fields, until after she broke out of her thoughts. She took a deep breath, before falling into a familiar stance and starting her katas. She tried to move as swiftly and silently as possible, as she went through three different types of maneuvers. Seeing as she only had a little over an hour until she could go shopping, she decided to take off on a light jog around the village, just to keep moving. She didn't want to get into any serious training, for such a short amount of time. Plus, not long after she began her katas, she felt a chakra signature flicker into the area, not knowing who was watching, she didn't want to risk revealing her skills, especially to Danzo's men.

Her eyes subtly flickered to the mysterious person, before she took off at a steady pace. Jogging was such a rarity for her considering her hectic schedule, but it was also one of her favorite things to do. She enjoy moving at a leisure pace and observing her village all the while. It always felt like she found something new each time, add to the fact that she was in the past before the village was rebuilt several times over, it almost had Sakura giddy, as she moved down each road. Though she would not cover even half of the village at her pace, she just decided to save the rest for a later date and enjoy her time now.

She was only somewhat aware that someone was following her the whole time.

OoOo

The person in the shadow's happened to be young man by the name Namikaze Minato. He had just returned home early from a secret mission from the Hokage and was on his way to the tower, when he felt someone's chakra in the distance. Usually he would not pay such mind, however the fact that the chakra was unfamiliar and in such a secluded place made him wonder.

It's not well known, but Minato is a very curious person. Every since childhood, he like to observe people, more than interact. He liked to observe ninja hopping from roof top to roof top, civilians hustling and bustling around in busy food markets, kids playing in the playground, and old people playing shogi near by. People always made him wonder. Why do they do things they don't like? Do they feel bad for hurting others? Why when given the choice, do most tend to choose wrong? Why does a specific something make one person happy, but not the other? He realizes that these questions can't just simply be answered, but he can observe all types of people and hopefully draw his own satisfying conclusion.

So, when Minato came across the face of a female, whom he has never seen, he was instantly curious. Her looks alone were enough to draw him in, with her long petal pink hair, her unusual bright green eyes, to her petite stature. Questions automatically began forming in his head. Who was she? Where did she come from? What's her name? Is that her natural hair color? But he ignored them, in exchange for watching her. She moved silently, however her strikes were too slow, by his standards, yet she never made pointless motions, only did what was necessary.

When she finished her katas and looked like she was ready to leave, Minato was going to turn and leave, until the woman's eyes flickered to his location, just before she left.

_' She had sensed me.'_ he thought, as he watched her go. Most would not be surprised, if they saw that a jounin could sense them, but Minato was not most. He was a man that prided himself in his ability to strike before an opponent even knew he was being attacked and the key to that was stealth. Minato was quieter than a mouse and moved as fluid as water itself, while being faster than the speed of light. Needless to say, picking up on him before he got you was practically unheard of.

So he followed and watched her for a little bit longer and made sure he masked his chakra more. The woman seemed to be fascinated by Konoha, as she took in each and every corner in her path. Sometimes her eyes would flash with wonder and other times with a wistful look, but they never faltered in their effort to take all of it in. Twice she looked up to see if there was someone there, which of course there was, but she never seemed to be able to pinpoint his location.

_'Interesting.'_

Minato noted, after the pink haired woman walked into a clothing store. He would need to see if he could get any information out of Sarutobi. It was obvious by her outfit and lack of guards, that she was no threat to Konoha, but that still didn't explain exactly who she was or where she had been all this time.

Minato's interest was peaked and he had a feeling, this would not be satisfied by a round of question's with the "professor".

OoOo

As Sakura entered the shop, she felt the feeling of being watch go away slowly. Call it paranoia if you will, but Sakura has learned to depend on her instincts ever since she was young. They helped her when she first encountered Zabuza and made her quickly move and tackle Naruto to keep him from being beheaded, they helped her realize Sasuke was leaving, they came in handy in her battle with Sasori, and during the war. So Sakura had learned to not just dismiss her gut feeling with a basic excuse.

She did a once over the large one level store, before going towards the ninja gear and seeing if they had anything that could take the place of her old outfit. She picked out several spandex shorts, shirts, form-fitting black shinobi pants and shorts, fishnet under shirts, half shirts, and a pair of black boots, similar to her old ones. She had all she needed in terms of her career and was making her way towards the check out desk, when a voice stopped her.

" You can't possibly only getting ninja clothes, now can you?"

Sakura turned towards the female voice, observing the woman in front of her. She had to be five years older than herself, a civilian, in a long blue skirt and white shirt. Brown sandals, that matched her neck length hair, with warm, yet calculating icy blue eyes.

" Um, yes?" answered Sakura, a bit confused with this woman's deal.

The woman sighed and shook her head." You only got the necessities. What about other clothes, you're not gonna be on missions every single day, you need more than that." Sakura was going to reply that she was fine, but the woman stopped her." And don't even tell me that your fine, because your clearly not if you're walking around in the standard jounin uniform. Women only where that thing on missions and training, if necessary, so if you're wearing it voluntarily, that must mean you're in desperate need for some help."

The older woman began walking towards the other side of the store, where more fashionable and regular clothes were. She turned back and spoke." Well, don't just stand there with that confused look on your face. I'm gonna help you out, because you clearly need it. Don't worry, we'll try to fit your budget and style, now let's go." she paused for a moment." My name's Mira, by the way. Kasane Mira."

Sakura just knew that she would not be leaving this store anytime soon.

OoOo

Hiruzen stared at the young man in front of him. Namikaze Minato was becoming a well known shinobi. He was always regarded as a prodigy ever since he entered the academy, with his high intellect, large amount of chakra, and ability to quickly pick up on things, really made him the perfect shinobi.

However that was not all that he was. He was a man of honor, never took pride in his high kill count, nor did he come off as arrogant, even with his world renound skills. He was very down to Earth and humble. One of his few downfalls was that he loved so much, especially those close to him. Once you were taken under his wing, you were his on, which could be problematic in the shinobi world, considering most were ready to use any and everything against Minato.

But, the man was still human. When he first began making a name for himself he expressed to his sensei, Jiraiya, who later told Hiruzen, that Minato was worried about the target he'd now become. Jiraiya of course, assured Minato that he would be fine, with his own experience after become a legendary sannin. When Minato first got his genin team, he was afraid his enemies would target them. Which lead to Minato keeping a close eye on them and trying to keep them in the village for as long as possible, until Hiruzen intervened.

Minato had worries and doubts just like everyone. He would seek guidance from his sensei and kage, if he did not believe he could handle something on his own. The first time he lost someone on a mission he was leading, he blamed himself and could not sleep for a week. Jiraiya had to literally drag him out of his house, all the way to the Hokage's office, where he gave the man a good smack to the head, before letting his sensei take over. Though Minato stumbled, he never fell.

The Sandaime looked at the 22 year old and asked something he noticed the minute Minato walked in.

" What has you so distracted, Minato-kun?"

Said man blinked." Forgive me Hokage-sama." he bowed, but Sarutobi waved it off." I was just wondering, would you mind telling me about our new resident ninja."

Sarutobi, took a long drag from his pipe." So, you've met her?"

" More like, I saw her on my way here."

The Hokage could have laughed. It was obvious to him that Sakura did not want to interact with the people here, but most _specifically_ Naruto's parents. But, not even 24 hours here and she's already caught Minato's attention, without knowing it. Oh, Hiruzen knew about Minato's bad curiosity habit, after interacting with him often. He wondered how long Sakura would be able to avoid the blonde, something like that would not be an easy feat. However, knowing that she trained under Tsunade meant that she must have inherited her stubbornness, which would prove to be entertaining.

" She just came back from a long mission I sent her on. She is one of my personal ANBU. " Sarutobi's eyes twinkled as he looked at Minato. It was obvious he wanted to know more, but would he be willing to ask?

Minato, for his part, was trying to be patient. The man in front of him was in charge and would tell him what he needed to know. But that didn't mean he couldn't be a senile old man, who loved to mess with people. So, he waited for the man to give him the last basic piece of information about the woman, who captured his interested.

" Is there something else you need?" questioned the kage, with merriment in his voice. Minato could also be impatient, if it was about something interesting.

_' To figure out how to burn holes in your head, with my eyes.'_ Minato thought irritated, though he tried not to show it.

He took a deep breath." Might I know her name?"

" Of course." he said, as if he didn't know Minato was waiting for it." Her name is Sakura."

Sakura.

He could have guessed it, considering her features. But, even if that name was not completely uncommon, but he found, that he could not think of a better name for her.

" No surname name?"

" Maybe if you ask nicely, she will answer your questions." _' If she'll give you the time of day that is.'_ Sarutobi completed in his head, while managing to dodge anymore questions. The third had talked to Sakura about using an alias for her last name, but Sakura had insisted on keeping her given name. Hiruzen had been unsure, but persuaded him, by telling him that her parents were not even in the village at this time. Not to mention that Harunos were scattered all over the elemental nations, so it should not draw too much attention to herself.

Minato twitched. Clever old man.

OoOo

Sadly, Sakura had been right. She was stuck in the store for three hours, looking at everything from skirts to pants, tank tops to sweaters. Of course, she didn't buy half the things she saw, but she did manage to get several casual outfits, some nice undergarments, and a pair of slip on sandals and strap on heels. All at a decent price, so it wasn't a total waste of time. Mira, also spoke about going to her friend's shop that had all types of fabric and accessories, Sakura had politely declined, saying this would be enough, but had to promise to go to the store soon.

She headed straight home, to drop off her bags and decided to go out for breakfast. She would grocery shop and get things for the apartment later. Tomorrow she would start work and hopefully built a comfortable pattern in this time era. She would go on missions when needed, speak with the Hokage, if she thought something important needed to be done, and try not to get involved with her friends parents lives too much.

This was going to be a long experience.

* * *

Alright, I would like to thank all who followed, favorited, or reviewed my story. It makes me happy to know people enjoy it.

This story is gonna have more build up, but it won't drag out for too long, since as you can see, Minato is already curious about Sakura. They will not instantly fall for each other, but I will try to create some moments that will lead to their romance. I will also try to have more adventure and interaction with other characters, instead of keeping to team Minato, like I did in BNB.

Hoped you liked and thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Unravel

" Doctor Haruno, we need you in the operating room! A three man squad just came back from a mission. One poisoned, with somewhat fatal injuries. The other two are suffering from blood loss and fatigue, but are being attended to." called, Sherry. One of the newer nurses, her shoulder length greyish-blue hair, complimenting her grey eyes.

Sakura looked up from the employee records and quickly closed the distance between her desk and the door, following the nurse. Sakura has been working at the hospital for nearly a week, without incident. Well, from her side. It had shocked the young girl, how much the hospital thrived under Tsunade's leadership, because with her gone, people didn't even seem to be trying to advance the medical procedures this place had.

Of course, Sakura immediately brought this up with the Hokage, hoping to make some changes. At first the old man, said it would be too time consuming to try and teach the medical staff, while worrying about new patients arriving and taking care of the patients, who are already registered. However, Sakura was not one to give up so easily. She suggested taking five of the top medics and training them after work hours and when the hospital was not busy. It could count as overtime and once they got the techniques down, they could begin training their own small group of medics. It might not be as quick as teaching everyone, but it is an effective method. So, by next week she would be teaching a few staff members more orthodox methods in removing poisons, healing severed limbs, and many other types of ways to heal and keep patients alive.

Sakura was glad she was wearing her new outfit, to replace the standard jounin uniform. Her new outfit consisted of a sleeveless red turtle neck shirt, similar to ANBU under shirts, with a short sleeve fish-net shirt underneath, black mid thigh form-fitting shorts, with pockets, and knee high black boots like her old ones. Like this, she could keep clean, considering there was blood all over the place and she would need to start extracting poison, which usually caused her to throw her clothes out, just to keep from getting effected.

" Doctor Haruno!" called a medic, who was attending to one of the non-poisoned team members.

Sakura instantly focused on the task at hand.

OoOo

Obito was not in a good mood. First, he ended up oversleeping _again_ and had to hear Kakashi's stupid remarks about it. Then, when he challenged the bastard to a spar, Minato-sensei had cut in blaming _him_, instead of the jerk who started it. Next, the three of them had to take the bell test again and just when Obito thought he had his sensei, Minato flashed out of the area, making him and Kakashi collide. He ended up get cut up on his arm, by that stupid tanto Kakashi always carries. Lastly, when Rin offered to heal the wounds, Minato said that he should see a 'professional' to make sure it's not 'serious.'

Che. Rin could totally heal him, if she tried, but now he has to walk all the way to the hospital, with a sore arm and a bad mood. Minato-sensei had offered to accompany him, but the Uchiha prefered to be alone.

_' Thanks a lot, Sensei. The one thing that could have brightened my mood and you prevent it. Why do bad things always happen to me?'_ Obito wondered, as he entered the hospital.

The receptionist must have seen him out of the corner of her eye." How may I- Oh my! What happened?"

Obito smiled sheepishly." Training accident. My sensei said the wounds weren't deep, but that I should get properly healed to be safe."

" A good thing too." she nodded, her brown hair bouncing with the action. She scribbled something down on a piece of paper, before handing him a clipboard." Take this and go to room 23D, right down the hall. As you fill out those forms, a doctor will be with momentarily. Do be careful." she advised.

Obito gave a quiet thanks and headed for his assigned room. The young boy really did not like hospitals, considering the air was full of sterilized chemicals, the people were depressing, and the food wasn't all that great. He just hoped this would be a quick get in get out visit.

OoOo

Sakura sighed. She had done three major surgeries this morning, checked in on all her listed patients this afternoon, and was reviewing files for the medic selection. However, she was paged by the receptionist saying a genin got into a training accident and that she was needed. Sakura knew she'd end up dealing with this eventually, considering how careless most genin were. They thought the moment they got a headband, they were true ninja, but in reality they were little different from the academy students. They didn't realize the danger that came with wearing those headbands, nor did they realize the scars that a true ninja developed, mental and physical.

But, she pushed those thoughts aside, as she silently entered the room. Only to pause, as she got a look at the boy, who's back was facing her. Orange and navy blue outfit, goggles on top of his head, short spiky hair, and an Uchiha crest displayed proudly on his back. Sakura instantly knew who the kid was, thanks to her sensei's first team photo from when he was a genin.

Uchiha Obito.

The man responsible for Kakashi's drastic change in life. The man responsible for the Kyuubi attack. The man, who left Naruto as an unloved orphan for most of his life. The man, who manipulated Nagato into recreating the Akatsuki. The, man who committed many heinous crimes and started the Fourth Shinobi War, summoned the Juubi, and turned out to be manipulated himself. The man, who had regret his life's mistakes, saved Naruto's life, helped retrieve Sasuke from another dimension, and saved Kakashi's life once again, by sacrificing his own.

The man, who was now a little boy, who only wanted to get the girl of his dreams and become Hokage.

Sakura took a deep quiet breath. She had not prepared herself for encountering anyone in the past, for the most part, but to meet Obito of all people, really put her on her toes. She had come to learn of some of the things Obito did, while she was in office, and none of it was good. Even knowing that he was manipulated along the way did not do away with the bad taste in her mouth. It came down to the fact that he had a choice in the matter and he chose to follow Madara's orders, he chose to commit the crimes that drastically affected the future in such a negative way, it left Sakura conflicted. She sympathized with the boy, who was similar to Naruto in his younger years and for the man who felt remorse and tried to fix some of his mistakes even if it lead to his death. But, the man who had caused Naruto to have such a horrible childhood, the man who left Kakashi a shell of his former self, the man who manipulated the Yondaime Mizukage, and the man that help leave such a deep scar on the shinobi nations, she could not help but detest him.

_' But now, he has done none of those things.'_ the rational side of Sakura's psyche stated. True this Obito still had a heart and would never harm his friends, but it did not make this much easier on Sakura.

Apparently the Uchiha had finally noticed her presence, when his shrieked and jumped up from the bed.

" When did you get here?!" he shouted, pointing his good arm at her.

Sakura, after getting over her surprise by the boy's actions, answered him." Just now, Uchiha-san, My name is Haruno Sakura. I heard you had a little mishap, while training?" she decided to stay professional with they boy.

Obito grumbled to himself, before replying." Yeah. My team was fighting against our sensei and right as I had him, he flashed out of the way. It caused me an Kakashi to collide and his tanto cut up my arm."

Sakura nodded, the asked Obito to stick his injured arm out, which he complied. The wounds weren't serious and it took less than five minutes to get them all closed up. Sakura noticed, Obito seemed to be in a foul mood. She decided to see if she could fix that. Maybe if he knew that there was someone on his side, things would be different. She came back to stop the future from happening and starting small could be just what she need to do.

" Mind telling me why you're so upset? It can't just be because you got hurt in a spar." he blinked in surprise, before looking away." It's alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." she reached in her pocket and pulled out a sucker." Here, hopefully this can help a little."

" I'm not a little kid." he protested, but still took the candy.

Sakura felt her lips twitch upward." I know, but like I always say, a little sweet can be just what you need, when something sour happens." she moved towards the door, but paused after she opened it." If you're ever having a bad day, drop by my office for some sweets. You don't have to tell me what happens, but just know I'm willing to listen." with that she left.

Obito pondered the lady's words. He had never seen her before and was certain he'd recognize her pink hair, if he had. But, she seemed really nice and was willing to help him, even without his insistence.

_' Maybe this day was not as bad as I thought.'_ mused Obito, as he stuck the sucker in his mouth and exited the room.

OoO

It had only been four days, since their first meeting, but already Obito was back. This time he was covered in singe marks, with patches of his hair missing.

" Rough day of training?" questioned Sakura, the moment she spotted the burnt up boy.

" Che. Stupid Kakashi and his stupid exploding tags almost getting me killed." he tried to grumble under his breath, but Sakura being the trained kunoichi she is heard every word.

" Well, let's get you fixed up." she first applied some burn ointment on all the charred places, to relieve some pain and begin the process of fixing the damaged skin, by healing and generating new cells, while pealing off the dead skin. It was like getting a sunburn, only more instant and painful. She stopped, once the skin turned a healthy pinkish color. Then she ran her hands along the bald patches and using her chakra to will the hair molecules to start dividing and growing at a more rapid pace, until it was aligned with the rest of his hair. Once done, she pulled out a green apple sucker and handed it to the now fixed Uchiha.

" Do be careful, Uchiha-san. Healing is not magic and I would prefer not seeing you so beat up." she moved to leave, but this time Obito's voice stopped her.

" My name is Obito. No Uchiha and definitely no san dded at the end."

Sakura smiled to herself." As you wish, Obito."

OoOo

" Now watch my hands, as I make the incision, with the chakra scalpel nice and easy. It takes precise control, but this way it is less likely that the process will get infected or become undone. I want each of you to step forward and try, while I watch and give you tips if necessary." explained Sakura, as she stepped away from the dead body.

It was not Sakura's first time practicing on a dead body. In fact that was how Tsunade and Shizune had began teaching her, after she proved to be ready to start healing people. However, because of the fact that she was still inexperienced and that she could not just begin performing surgical procedures on people, without the chance of messing up, she had to stat on dead bodies and prove she would not seriously harm her patients, by making even the slightest of errors.

It was the third day of her lessons and they were applying chakra scalpels into their procedures, instead of using the hospital instruments. Using chakra scalpels would not only refine their control and produce more effective results, but it would also cut back on hospital spending for the instruments usually used for surgeries. It really was one of the best tools medics could use, considering it could make cuts inside the body, without creating an open wound.

Sakura had ended up selecting Hora Fumi, a 28 year old woman, with orange hair and dark brown eyes. Imamura Chie was a short woman, with long dirty blonde hair and black eyes, 30 years old. Hayashi Daiki was a tall male with brown hair and light brown eye, in his 31. Then there was Kagirinai Etsuko and Etsuo, both were fraternal twins given the fact that Etsuko was a female. They had black hair, Etsuo's being much shorter than his sisters, and dark green eyes, both were 25 years old.

They were an interesting group. Fumi, was rather quiet, but when she spoke, it was in a blunt or technical manner. Chie was soft spoken, however always willing to give her opinion if asked or if she felt it necessary. Daiki was a very laid back individual, unless the situation called for him to be serious, then you would think he's a completely different person. Etsuko and Etsuo would argue half the time, but often completed each others sentences and had similar taste. But Etsuko was lazy and a flirt, while her twin would overwork himself and tended to be shy around females.

The group could be a handful, but slowly Sakura was beginning to understand them, plus for the most part they were welcoming and friendly. She observed as each one of the practiced performing several incisions on their 'patient', making comments when needed and applauding after they were finished.

They invited her out for drinks, since it was nearing 7 PM, however Sakura replied that she was busy, but maybe next time. She went back to her office and filed the reports of all her listed patients, before taking of her lab coat and exiting the has already been working at the hospital for a month now and easily adjusted to her schedule. It had been a little over a week, since she had seen Obito, which hopefully meant he was not getting into accidents anymore. As she was passing the reception area, Sherry stopped her.

" Haruno-san!" Sakura paused and turned towards the woman." The young Uchiha boy stopped by, about an hour ago looking for you. I told him you had a teaching session, but I could get you if needed, however he declined. He didn't look hurt, but..."

" I see, thank for letting me know."

OoOo

Obito was sitting at the base of a hill, skipping rocks in the river that ran through the area, when Sakura finally found him. He seemed to be submerged in his own thoughts. So, she silently approached him and waited for him to sense her presence. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.

" What are you doing here?!" he shrieked, while pointing an accusing finger at her.

" I came looking for you, after I heard you stopped by to see me. You're not injured, but if you'd wish to talk, I'm willing to listen."

" Oh." said a much more calmed Obito. " Well...I'm not sure if telling you this would change anything."

" It depends on what it is. If it's something that makes you upset, talking about it can make you feel better, if only a little."

Obito nodded and took a seat on the hill, next to her.

" Okay, so there's this girl I like, who happens to be my teammate, Rin, and today I was going to finally ask her out, but." he stopped for a moment. Sakura was in no hurry, because she knew what he was talking about. He liked Rin, who liked Kakashi. It was still amazing to know that Team 7 had been so similar through the years.

" But, she was focused on our other teammate, Kakashi, and the fact that he passed the chunin exams and thinks he's so cool and stuff and...I ended up realizing, that she like him. The girl I like, likes the guy I don't like, who happens to be better than me in every way." he whipped his eyes and breathed, before continuing." How am I suppose to compete with a guy who's better looking, smarter, and more talented at being a ninja. I mean I haven't even awakened my sharingan and I didn't pass the chunin exams, and and -" he stopped speaking, when he felt a hand begin to rub circles on his back.

" It's alright, Obito."

Her words seemed to have broken him, because soon after he began hiccuping. Sakura just kept rubbing circles in his back and waited for him to get himself under control.

_' Ironic.'_ she mused._' This is similar to how Sai treated me, during my breakdowns. Never saying a word, during my chaotic state, but always saying what I needed to hear after.'_ he eyes dimmed a bit at the thought of her Root friend. The man had learned emotions and expressed himself more, but still remained blunt and quiet. She only wished he could have found happiness, instead of worrying over her, but hopefully she could change that this time.

Sakura began speaking, after Obito began to calm down." Obito, let me tell you something. Rin is just twelve years old." Obito looked up confused, so Sakura elaborated." At that age, girls are very confused. They don't know who they are, what they wanna do with their lives, or what love is. However, there is one thing they do know and that's that they want to be accepted and loved. Now, let me ask you, was Kakashi popular among the females in your year?"

Obito thought for a minute." Yeah. Nearly all the girls in our age group liked him."

" Exactly. And how many of them are close to Kakashi? How many of them know him? None right?" Obito agreed." That's because their just infatuated by Kakashi. You say he has looks and talent, which draws girls in to him, especially confused girls, like Rin. She most likely heard all the other girls talking about how amazing Kakashi was and ended up going with the flow of it. She doesn't see the real Kakashi, but an image that is projected to her through other girls and her own ideal."

" So, what does that mean for me?" asked the young Uchiha.

" It means that you have time. Being on the same team as her, means that you can show her you're a better choice. Try to get to know her better, by starting up simple conversations that she might like. Don't be pushy about your feelings and don't try to discredit Kakashi, cause that will only reflect bad on you. Every love, begins with a friendship, which is what you need to build, alright?"

" Yeah." Obito felt a bit better knowing he still had a chance to be with Rin, but he still didn't like the situation.

" Say, how about we go for some desserts at a nearby cafe, my treat?" questioned Sakura, seeing the boy's still sullen mood.

" Alright!"

* * *

Done. Hope you guys enjoyed and don't worry, Minato will be back next chapter.

Names and meanings;

Hora (preserve good) Fumi ( history)

Imamura (new village) Chie( blessed with wisdom)

Hayashi(forest) Daiki ( big tree)

Kagirinai ( eternal) Etsuko ( child of delight) and Etsuo( joyous life)

I'm not sure if these are 100% accurate, in terms of translation, but when I went looking for Japanese names, I decided to try and get ones that matched , Like how Sakura's name translates to Springfield Cherry blossoms. I will not be doing this again, seeing as it took far too much time, though I might give you the meanings of any new OC's first name.

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Unravel

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto.**

It's been nearly two weeks since then, with Obito visiting whenever he was injured or if he just wanted to see his pink haired friend. For the first week, he was not sure what topic to bring up with Rin and finally cracked down and asked Sakura. She asked him to tell her about Rin, learning that the girl was a medic, but for the most part Obito didn't know a lot about her. So, Sakura suggested to ask Rin, why she wanted to become a medic.

" The key is to ask questions about the girl. It makes her think you're interested in her life and willing to listen." Sakura told him.

She did some research on Obito herself. She wanted to find out why the boy was unable to activate his sharingan. It could be that he needs a traumatizing experience, but given the fact that he's not a fresh out of the academy genin and has done a few C-ranks, plus the chunin exams, it seems unlikely that his eyes have not awakened yet. Sakura hoped that by getting his sharingan to awaken earlier and allowing him to practice with it can change the outcome of _that_ mission.

However, she didn't want to get too involved with Team 7, because that would mean getting close to Minato. She clearly had nothing against the male, but interacting with him could be problematic. He would play a large part in the upcoming war, making a name for himself, become the next Hokage, and was Naruto's father. Sakura wanted to change things from the shadows so she didn't draw attention to herself, nor she mess something up due to her emotions.

Sakura has caught glimpses of the man and thought it was crazy how similar his son looked to him. There were differences, like Minato's bangs and the absence of whisker marks, but anyone would be able to connect the dots. Which made her wonder why no one in her time was able to. Sure the younger generation would not have much of a clue, but given the fact that Konoha was housing the last known Uzumaki, to them that is, and that he looked nearly identical to their beloved fourth Hokage, it really did not sit well with Sakura.

But, she would need to worry about that later, because right now she was pouring over her seventh scroll on advanced sealing techniques. When she was Hokage, she came across many things, one being high level seals and jutsu, and she took a small interest in it. Sealing was not the same as medical ninjutsu, but it did make Sakura want to grasp the basics and a bit beyond that. However, the best she learned were storage seal, exploding tags, and the written basics to help seal off your home, Konoha was not that advanced on the subject. She thought that it didn't matter whether or not she knew fuuinjutsu, because it was rarely used anyway and she never needed it before.

she had been dead wrong. After voicing her concerns to Obito, he had let Sakura examine his eyes, to see if there was a reason why his bloodline would not awaken. What she found worried her. Surrounding Obito's octave nerves was foreign chakra, that seemed to be disrupting the chakra that sharingan wielders would usually send to their eyes to activate them. She tried to used her own chakra to move the block, but it prove futile and having Obito try and use his own chakra, cause the boy a painful headache and stinging sensation in his eyes.

It took two days for her to come to the conclusion to see if she could use fuuinjutsu to absorb the foreign chakra from Obito's nerves, to see if he would sooner be able to awaken his eyes. But, just because she knew _what_ she needed to do, didn't mean she knew _how_ to do it. Considering the fact that every book she reads only talks about what type of seals have been created and never how to create it. The only seals that she found were standard ones or elemental absorption, not raw chakra. Fuuinjutsu was a tough art to master, you needed a lot of time and patience, not to mention clear calligraphy and good chakra control. More often than not, ninja prefered to learn ninjutsu and don't even think about the near endless possibilities that come with learning such an art.

Though it was understandable, seeing as the best way was to learn from a specialist, which were hard to come by. Sakura knew that Jiraiya was a seal expert, sadly his location was unknown to her at the moment.

_' Where am I going to find someone, with proper sealing knowledge, that could help me?'_ she wondered, as she looked out the window of the hot dusty library._' Did anyone every lean this place?'_ she questioned as she whipped some dust off her blue skirt and red shirt._' Maybe I could tell Hokage-sama to make dusting the library a D-rank mission.'_ she mused, before her eyes widened.

The Hokage.

_' Surely he could help me.'_

OoOo

" I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but I can't help you." she looked down in disappointment at the old man's words." But, I do know someone, who I think could." she perked up.

The Hokage scribbled something on a piece of paper, before summoning and handing it to a eagle masked ANBU, who poofed away.

" Tell me Sakura-chan, how have you been adjusting to life here?"

Sakura paused, trying to think about how to respond." So far things have been alright. Working at the hospital has made the adaption easier, given I've always spent a lot of time there and the apartment you gave me is just what I need."

Sarutobi nodded." Have you interacted with others?" he asked, folding his hand over the other.

Sakura tucked a long strand of pink hair behind her ear." Other than Obito, I have not really come in contact with people I knew or heard about. I've mostly stuck to co-workers and some rather pushy shop owners." she replied, thinking about Mira and her friend Anri. They were a difficult duo, but were good company to have. Sakura never liked being alone for too long, because when she was alone she'd get lost in her thoughts, which more often than not lead to her memories. Even if she has excepted her fate, it doesn't mean her past was not right behind her, haunting her.

She was draw away from her thoughts, by a knock at the door.

" Come in."

Sakura turned, just as the door opened and had to will her eyes not to widen.

" You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama." came the feminine voice of Uzumaki Kushina.

Sakura had read as much as she could about the woman. She had come over here from Uzugakure at the young age of eight. She didn't fit in well with the kids and was nearly kidnapped by Iwa, because she is the jailer of the Kyuubi. Naruto had apparently got most of his personality from her and she was a jounin of the village. That's all that was recorded or said about her.

" Yes, Kushina-chan. This here is Sakura-chan and she needs your sealing expertise to help her with a medical case she's working on." explained he Hokage.

" Ah, so you're the mysterious Kunoichi I've heard about." spoke Kushina, as she looked Sakura up and down." Nice to meet you. I'm Uzumaki Kushina, though you can just call me Kushina, dattebane!" exclaimed the red head, as she stuck her hand out.

Sakura smiled, the woman seemed so friendly." I'm Haruno Sakura, and you may just call me Sakura as well." she replied in a much more subdued fashion.

Although Sakura was not to keen on interacting with any of her friends parent, she knew it would happen eventually. Plus, with the way Kushina babbled on, like Naruto, Sakura was sure she was gonna like the fiery woman.

OoOo

" So you're trying to create a seal that can absorb chakra from a person?" questioned Kushina, as she looked at Sakura. They had went back to Sakura's office to discuss about what the plan would be. Sakura nodded, as she pulled out Obito's file and brought it to her desk. Kushina was sitting across it in a chair and opened the file." Oh, you're doing this for Obito?"

" Yes. Do you know him?" The Hokage said that Minato and Kushina weren't together, so she was not sure how close they were.

" Mmhmm. I know with his sensei, Namikaze Minato. You met him?" she asked, looking up from the file.

" Not really, though I've heard a few nurses gossiping about him and have seen him through out the village."

" You should talk to him, he's a nice guy."

Sakura watched Kushina for any tell tale signs about her feelings for Minato. She didn't seem to mind talking about him, so their was no strained relationship between them. However, she did not seem too emotionally invested in him either. She sounded like she was talking about a friend and nothing more.

" Oh, are you two close?" Sakura asked, keeping her voice casual and light.

" Not explicitly. We went to the academy together and are friends, but there's nothing going on. "

Sakura had to stop herself from sighing in dismay. Even if they were friends, Kushina has shown no real interest in Minato. Although there's still a possibility that Naruto will be born, it would be better to know he would have his original parents there for him, two people Sakura knew would give anything to protect him.

" Anyway, I can make the seal you require, no problem, I will just need Obito here to do that." Sakura raised an eyebrow, so Kushina continued." If I make the seal now, it will suck out Obito's chakra instead of the foreign chakra, because it came in contact with his first. However, if I use some of Obito's chakra to create the seal, then it will not effect his chakra, but the chakra that is blocking his eyes. "

" That will be fine. He should be here soon, seeing as his team should be finishing up their training, now." Sakura replied, as she moved to grab some ink, a brush, and some blank paper.

" Does Obito come by often?"wondered Kushina, as she began making the base for the seal.

The woman had a steady and hand, while she elegantly moved the brush across the paper. Sakura was almost envious. Though she had nice hand writing, it would not be classified as elegant or feminine, after all, being a doctor gave you no time to practice your calligraphy.

The way Kushina was concentrating, made her seem so different from the exuberant kunoichi she has been talking to for the last hour. But, Sakura was positive Kushina was moving at a semi-slow pace for her to be able to observe how it's done. Kushina was excellent at fuuinjutsu, so she could probably create seals, as fast as Sai created ink animals.

The sound of the door sliding open, drew both females attention.

" Sakura-san, you won't believe what happened to Kakashi today! He -" the boisterous boy cut himself off, when he noticed the other woman in the room." Kushina-san?"

" Hey, Obito. Sorry if I'm intruding on your personal time with Sakura, but she needed my help with your case."

" Obito you remember how I talked to you about using fuuinjustu to remove the block from your eyes?" she received a nod." Well, lucky for us, Kushina here, knows how to create the seal and will be able to remove the foreign chakra from your system."

" Really?" asked an excited Obito.

" Really." confirmed both Kushina and Sakura.

Kushina then instructed Sakura and Obito to place their hands on the seal and push a little of his chakra into the paper. Once that was done, Kushina finished making the required patterns for the seal, there was a circle in the middle surrounded by several lines, holding a distinct pattern, like the sun, with the kanji word for absorb in the center. Sakura then had Obito lie down, as she placed her hands next to his eyes.

" Alright Kushina, I will be pushing my medical chakra into his eyes to sooth the feeling of the foreign chakra being ripped out of his nerves."

"That kinda sounds painful, Sakura-san." came Obito's nervous voice.

" Don't worry kid, I will use my chakra to make sure that when the seal is activated, it doesn't automatically remove all the chakra at once. The most you would feel, would be a slight burning sensation."

" Don't worry Obito, you'll be fine. Now, Kushina, you can begin."

Kushina placed the seal on top of Obito's eyes and activated it, while Sakura began to pour medical chakra into his nerves. Slowly, the foreign chakra was consumed and sealed into the paper, however when Sakura's chakra came in contact with the foreign one, it stopped and somehow sent a strong pulse towards the seal, deactivating it.

" What happened?" asked Kushina.

" The foreign chakra instantly went into defense when it came into contact with mine and lashed out, disrupting your seal." said Sakura, as if she were still coming to terms with this as well. She did not like this. The fact that someone not only put a block on Obito's eyes, but also put a defense mechanism on it meant that the person did not want Obito to receive his sharingan.

" Can't you just remove the chakra, without using your s, Sakura-san?" questioned Obito.

" It would be too dangerous. The reason why I'm using my chakra is because your nerves have only filtered half the regular amount of chakra that is suppose to circulate through them. Meaning that if they're flooded with more chakra at such a fast rate, they could end up suffering damage, rendering you blind. My chakra would gradually heal and strengthen them, while slowly allowing your chakra to leak through."

" But, weren't you able to use your chakra before?" asked Kushina, as she began making a new seal.

" Yes, but before you weren't trying to remove the block from around Obito's nerves. I can either run my chakra around the block or you can remove it, though with great risk." Sakura sighed.

" What if Obito tried to keep his chakra at bay, until you were able to use yours to heal his nerves?" suggested Kushina, as she finished.

Sakura blinked. It was still a risk, but not as much as before. She turned towards Obito.

" Do you feel confident enough in your chakra control, that you can do that, Obito? You won't need to stop the flow completely, just try to concentrate most of it into a different area in your body."

" I think I could do it." he replied a bit unsure.

" How about this Obito, why don't you leave today." she raised her hand to cut off the boy's protest." And starting tomorrow we will practice chakra control, for the next few days. I don't want to have you at such a high risk for this process. We have time and you've managed to survive without your bloodline this far, waiting a little bit longer should be no trouble."

" But..." called out the disappointed Uchiha.

" It will only be a little bit longer. At least there is a way for you to gain your sharingan, ne?" Sakura spoke, as she pulled out a grape lollipop, offering it to the boy.

Sighing, Obito gave in and nodded.

" Good, be here tomorrow." she called, as the boy left the room.

Sakura then turned to the redhead, still there.

" Sorry. It seems your time was somewhat wasted."

Kushina waved a dismissive hand." No need to be, I was able to help you get further in understanding Obito's case, so it wasn't a total loss. However," she grinned broadly." if you wanna make it up to me, how about we go for drinks, your treat?"

Sakura smiled slightly. This woman was definitely Naruto's mother." Kushina, it's Tuesday, meaning I have work in the morning." Sakura's reasoning caused the woman to pout." But, how about we meet up at the local bar on Friday and I buy you drinks."

Kushina beamed." It's a date! I'll see you Friday Sakura-chan!" shouted the woman over her shoulder, as she left the room.

Sakura wasn't sure if it was just a slip of the tongue, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face, at the use of the suffix '-chan'. Only Naruto ever called her that, who was close to her age, so hearing it from Kushina brought back happy memories.

OoOo

_ " Naruto." called Sakura. She had just been on a stroll, until she saw the familiar shade of bright sunny hair, out of the corner of her eye._

_" Ah, Sakura-chan! What are you doing out here?" asked Naruto, once she caught up to him._

_" Just taking a walk. What about you? Not hanging out with your best friend, Sai?"_

_Just like that, her teammate's face morphed into a scowl._

_" Why would I wanna hang out with that jerk?" he grumbled as he crossed his arms._

_Sakura giggled." Oh come on, I know you two are just the best of friends."_

_" No way! He's always going on about balls and dicks! There's no way I could be friends with him." protested Naruto._

_Sakura flicked his ear." Keep your voice down, you idiot. There are children in the streets."_

_Naruto complained under his breath, while rubbing his ear._

_" Even if we all got off to a rough start, were still teammates, so you're gonna need to get used to his company."_

_" Yeah, yeah." he paused for a moment, before brightening up." But, how about some ramen first?" he questioned, while pointing at Ichiraku." It can be a date."_

_Sakura smiled." Sure, if you're paying."_

_" Sakura-chan~" groaned Naruto, while said girl laughed at him._

OoOo

Something was up with Obito. For the past few weeks, he's been a bit different, which of course made Minato curious as to what's changed. Obito, though still argues with Kakashi, no longer goes out of his way to challenge or start something with his grey haired teammate. He also no longer tries to ask Rin out, but instead engages her in conversations, which Minato noticed had Rin doing more of the talking about herself than anything. Somehow, Obito figured out that his usual approach towards his teammates was not working, so he tried a different method.

But why the change all of a sudden?

What made Obito so different from his persona two weeks ago?

" Sensei!" the sweet voice of Minato's female student brought him out of his musings." Obito sprained his ankle, while sparring with Kakashi and I need to get him to the hospital." she explained, with Obito's arm slug around her shoulders.

" Alright, we'll end practice for today. Obito, will you be alright?" he asked his injured student.

" I'll be alright , sensei. Besides, I have Rin, so you know I'm in good hands." Obito said with a grin.

At the compliment Rin's cheeks tinted. It was nice to know her teammates appreciated her, if a little embarrassing.

Minato nodded and waved them off. However, as he was watching them walk off, something clicked.

The hospital.

Obito is a brash person by nature, so he often ended up injuring himself, causing his to need to go to the hospital. So it was not surprising to the young blonde to send him there after training. But, what was surprising was the way Obito's attitude towards the hospital seemed to change. Before he would moan and groan, while insisting he's fine, but for the past three weeks he's never once complained about going there. Not to mention, that every now and then, Minato saw his student exiting from the hospital on days when the team didn't even have sessions or at odd hours of the time. Minato knew Obito was a bit accident prone, but not to such a degree, where he would often need to be there that much.

" What are you thinking about, sensei?" came Kakashi's even tone, with just a hint of curiosity.

" Just wondering what caused Obito to change."

" Maybe his mouth finally got him into some serious trouble, which caused him to straighten up."

" Hmm, maybe." Minato's eyes slid to his most reserved student." How have you been Kakashi?"

Kakashi shrugged, he knew his sensei always worried for him, especially considering Minato was one of the first ANBU to find him standing in the middle of his dad's blood, the night he killed himself. Minato looked out for his team, as if they were all family, but Kakashi felt it was unneeded. He already lost his first family, he didn't need a new one, just to lose it again.

Minato sighed, it seemed like it would still be a while, until Kakashi opened up and let his team in.

OoOo

Sakura sighed, as she left the hospital, while rolling her shoulders. It was not a busy day, but she felt as if the day stretched on too long, with the hours seeming endless.

Maybe it was time she asked the Hokage for a mission, seeing as she has already been here for over a month and has settled in for the most part. Honestly, she was getting bored with her normal routine of waking up, training, going to work, having a session with Obito every other day, training the medical staff, then returning home and thinking about her old friends.

She was lonely.

Interacting with Kushina two days back, really made Sakura realize how much she missed her friends. It was so odd being by herself, seeing as when she was the Hokage, she always had people near, then when she went home, she was always greeted by someone and asked how was her day.

Sakura's eyes took on a distant look, she could already picture it. Yamato would greet her in his green apron and ask how was work, Kakashi would be reading one of his Icha Icha books, that he no doubt has already memorized from cover to cover, and Sai would be entering at her side, usually making a comment about how dreadful she looked. Yes, they were her family and understood her better than most, better than even Ino and she really missed them.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she didn't see the body in front of her, causing her and the stranger to collide. Arms wrapped around her, before she could even open her eyes, after closing them from the impact. When she did, she saw a jounin vest, over a blue long sleeved shirt. Slowly lifting her eyes, with her heart dropping when she saw long blonde bangs, her emerald green eyes clashed with cobalt blue.

She stiffened in the man's arms.

_' Minato...'_

* * *

Gonna be evil and end it here. I know it's kinda slow, but I don't just want to jump right in like I did last time, since it was not as satisfying having Minato and Sakura interact, because everything seemed too easy, given Sakura's circumstances. However, I won't add in pointless drama and I won't have things go at a snails pace either. I just want to put a few bumps in the road, so that Sakura is not just cruising down easy street.

Thanks for reading and please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Unravel

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto**

Minato could not believe his luck. Ever since he had first saw Sakura, he wanted to speak with her, to learn where she had been for so long, and to understand exactly who she was. However, he did not know where she lived, worked, or who her friends were, so he could not find her. On the rare chance that he saw her in the streets of Konoha, she always seemed to disappear into the crowd or end up turning and going in the other direction. He could never seem to get close, there were of course rumors surrounding her strange appearance and Minato noticed how Shikaku and Inoichi seemed to go out of their way to squash the ones that talked about Sakura being a spy or a threat to the village, but Minato never liked to rely on such empty assumptions. He liked to draw his own conclusions, instead of relying on second rate information, if it could be helped.

So when he spotted her in the orange tinted streets, via the setting sun, he made swift steps towards her direction, without seeming as if he was specifically heading for her. There were a few people who littered the streets here and there, some heading home from work, others going to meet friends, but it was not busy like it usually was during the day. At first Minato was confused on why the woman did not try to go in the other direction or into the nearest store, but as he neared he noticed how she seemed distracted and was not even looking at him.

Minato had stopped a yard in front of her, wondering if she would snap out of her daze before she ran into him, but no such thing happened. He had quickly caught the kunoichi and observed her as she looked up to see who she ran into. The instant their eyes clashed something felt different. Minato didn't know what it was, so he ignored it in favor of seeing things, that he could not see from a distance. When he looked into her eyes, he could see the initial surprise, the confusion, the worry, and the...fear? Why was she afraid of him? Could she know about his reputation? Minato's skills were not commonly known in the shinobi world, but word did seem to spread fast in the village about his accomplishments and feats, so it was possible she had heard and decided to steer clear of him.

But, something told Minato that was not it. There was a reason why she always conveniently needed to be somewhere else, but he was not sure why she was avoiding him. His confusion only heightened when she froze in his arms, this was not a normal reaction most women had around him, but then again, most women did not have pink hair.

They held each others gaze for what seemed like a long time, until Sakura finally looked away, as she shuffled out of Minato's arms.

" I'm sorry, I was a bit distracted." she apologized, as she began to distance herself from him.

" No need to apologize, I should have moved out of the way." he waved off. It was the truth after all. Sakura nodded and looked like she was about to leave, so Minato tried to keep the conversation going.

" If you don't mind, I've never seen you before, prior to a month ago, miss..."

" Sakura. Haruno Sakura. And the reason for that was because with my rank, I stuck to the shadows for a long time and was out on a long term mission. However, now that I'm back I can presume a normal life. Well, normal for a ninja that is."

" Oh." responded Minato. Her story seemed believable, but Minato is positive that he would have seen her at least once.

" Forgive me, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Namikaze Minato, pleased to meet you." he stuck out his hand.

Sakura took a moment to contemplate him, before taking the offered hand.

" Likewise. If you'll excuse me Namikaze-san, I must be getting home." she said politely, as she turned to leave.

The whole time down the road, until she turned at the corner, Sakura felt Minato's eyes on her back. After she was out of his sight, she released a breath she did not know she was holding.

_' Dammit. I was so lost in thought I didn't even sense the man near me and now I've made contact with both Naruto's parents. This whole avoiding thing seems to not be working out at all.'_ Sakura thought, as she entered her house.

Maybe avoiding them could not work, but that did not mean she needed to be close to them. Keeping a polite distance, so that she was little more than an acquaintance could work.

As long as Minato never found out about her meetings with Obito.

And Kushina, finds that drinking with her was no fun.

Sakura groaned. She was already setting herself up to interact with them and there seemed to be no way to stop it. She couldn't just start ignoring Obito, because he played a key factor in the horrible outcome that was the future. Kushina, just did not seem like a person you could say no to, but maybe after this Friday, Sakura could start going on missions and become busy enough, so that Kushina would end up forgetting about her. It was all she could do at this point.

Sakura sighed, as she pulled out some vegetables for dinner. This was more difficult than she thought it would be.

OoOo

" Alright Obito, Kushina finished removing the foreign chakra and I've healed and expanded your nerves, where they were closed up thanks to the block. You will need to stay here for the night, so that your eyes can adjust to the new chakra flow. Tomorrow I will check in to see if you can remove the bandages and go home, however if you prove to need medical aid, I will keep you for the whole weekend, until you have team practice." explained Sakura, as she finished tying the bandages around Obito's eyes.

" So, I'm stuck in the hospital blind, with nothing to do?" whined Obito.

" Sorry Obito, but it's risky to let you leave, because your eyes are very sensitive right now. If your chakra ends up burning your octave nerves, then you could be blind forever. The nurses will bring you dinner and I will be back in the afternoon to see how you're doing, it's already late in the day, so just get some sleep and time will fly." soothed Sakura.

" Cheer up kid, you might be able to get your sharingan now, that the block is removed. Who knows, you could end up surprising your teammates with it and beating them in a spar." spoke Kushina.

That seemed to cheer Obito up, because of the large grin he was now sporting.

_' No doubt, imagining beating Kakashi and having Rin praise him.'_ mused Sakura. Sometimes it was obvious to know what Obito was thinking, because he was similar to Naruto at that age.

" Alright, Sakura-chan, let's head over to _Jin's__ Place_ and meet up with everyone." Kushina said, as she grabbed the pink haired woman's arm.

Sakura paused.

" What do you mean 'everyone'?" she asked in a wary tone.

" I mean my friends. I told them you would be joining us and they were super excited to meet you, especially since you seemed to keep to yourself, ever since you've been back from your last mission." Kushina explained, as she opened the door and entered the bar. At Sakura's worried expression Kushina continued." Don't worry. Tonight it's just me and the girls, so you're safe."

Sakura was slightly relived by this. The last thing she needed was to meet some of her friends parents, especially since Kushina and Minato were not together. It would be awkward.

" Oi Red, over here!" called the spiky brown haired woman, Sakura recognized as Tsume. The woman was always lively and easy going, but get on her bad side and she'd sick the hound on you. Literally.

" Hey guys, this is Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, this is Inuzuka Tsume, Nara Yoshino, Uchiha Mikoto, and Kasane Mira." Kushina introduced, as she slid in, next to Tsume. Sakura sat next to Mira, at the other end of the half table.

" Nice to see you again, Sakura." greeted Mira.

" You as well, Mira-san."

" Oh please. No need for the -san, just Mira dear."

" Wait a minute." interjected Yoshino." You two know each other?"

" We met not long after her return. She came into my shop, in the standard jonin uniform and only bought the necessities, at that point I knew she needed my help. We've met a few other times since then." answered Mira.

" Yet you never mentioned a thing before." grumbled Yoshino. Mira just smiled.

" Well, Pinky, nice of you to join us. You any good at drinking?" questioned Tsume.

" To be honest, I've never really had much time for drinking." replied Sakura. It was true, seeing as she was busy reconstructing Konoha, organizing the hospital, and running the village. She only had alcohol on special occasions and even then she was careful on her intake. After years of witnessing Tsunade drink herself under the table and suffer from it constantly, Sakura tried her best to never fall under the seduction that was alcohol.

Tsume grinned." Well, that's about to change." she called the waiter over and ordered a dozen shots of vodka." We're not lightweights, so you're gonna have to get up to speed in terms of handling your liquor."

" I said I never had much time, not that I couldn't hold my alcohol." even if she didn't drink often, it didn't mean she couldn't hold her liquor.

" Oh? Then why don't we make a bet? Whoever caves first, has to buy the drinks." challenged Tsume.

" You're on." responded Sakura, just as the waiter came.

OoOo

Mikoto sighed as she watch Tsume and Sakura down shot after shot. They were really too stubborn for they're own good. It was obvious to the four speculators, that the two women were near their limit, yet the still insisted on out drinking the other.

Seeing as she didn't know how long the two could hold out, before dropping like rocks, Mikoto decided to ask something that's been on her mind.

" Sakura-san?" she called, gaining the floral haired woman's attention." If you don't mind me asking, what is that on your forehead?"

Sakura blinked. She had wondered if anyone would bring it up.

Even though Sakura knew it might be a problem later, due to the effects of the liquor, the only thing she could tell was the truth.

" It's a seal. *Hiccup* It represents the chakra that I've stored over long periods of time." she replied, doing her best to not have her words slur.

" It sounds similar to Tsunade's, except her's is in the shape of a diamond." commented Mira.

" That's because Tsunade *Hiccup* was the one who taught me the technique."

" Eh~? You learned from Tsunade?" asked Kushina, as she swayed slightly. Even if she wasn't in the game, she still made sure to drink as much as possible.

" Un. I spent my late childhood studying under her." If Tsunade ever came back to the village, it might pose trouble. but, this way it would help with Sakura's cover story, in terms of being away from the village seemingly all her life.

" Cool~! We should spar sometime, Sakura-chan." stated Kushina.

" No wonder you're able to keep up with Tsume." began Yoshino." Tsunade is known for her drinking and gambling, as much as she is for her strength and medical ninjutsu."

" Che. It don't matter, who you studied from.*Hiccup* You're going -" down went Tsume, before she could finish her declaration. Her head laid roughly against the table, as she snored.

" Congrats, Sakura, you out drunk Tsume." congratulated Mira.

Sakura wanted to throw her hands up in the air and cheer, but her arms felt as heavy as lead. She tried to use her chakra to speed up her metabolism, but she was already so drunk that her chakra control was worse, than 12 year old Naruto. She was not a functioning drunk like Lee, sadly.

" I think that's enough for one night." announced Mikoto, as she sat some money on the table.

Yoshino nodded, while pulling out not only her's, but Tsume's wallet. Mira raised an eyebrow." What a bet's a bet. Tsume needs to pay for Sakura's drink."

Said woman, slowly lifted her arms, to grab her own wallet. " Be that as it may, I still have to pay for Kushina's drinks." the red-haired woman cackled in delight.

" Alright, I'll take Kushina home, Mikoto you need to get home, before your gate keeper, I mean husband, sends a search party, and Yoshino needs to drag Tsume home. Sakura, would you like to come with either of us?" questioned Mira.

Sakura smiled, but shook her head." Thanks, but I don't live too far from here, I'll be fine."

" Are you sure Sakura-san? It's not safe to walk home alone." insisted Mikoto.

" I'll be fine, no worries."

OoOo

In truth, Sakura didn't want anyone to know where she lived. It was always comforting to know, that no one would suddenly pop up at her home. If she was in need of an escape from the people around here, she could just flee to her safe heaven and calm herself. It was not paranoia, it was just a safety precaution, she convinced herself.

However, at the moment, she was not sure she would even be able to make it to her safe heaven. She had gone in the opposite direction of her home, just to be sure they would not pinpoint her apartment. Doing this meant taking the long way, of which she was not familiar with. Add to the fact that her vision is fading in and out, Sakura was mentally cursing her idiocy.

She was just so thankful that tomorrow she didn't have work or else she'd be royally screwed. By now it was probably past midnight and the crescent moon was showing through the clouds.

By this point Sakura was not aware of where she was going, as she entered a training field. All she knew was that her legs were aching and her eyes were drooping. She barely had enough strength to haul herself against the nearest tree, before she dropped to her knees and passed out.

Her last thought was that she would not enter in anymore drinking contest anytime soon.

OoOo

Minato sat on top of the Hokage monument, as the sun rose, like he did after a stressful mission. Since today was Saturday, he was wearing his casual outfit, which consisted of a white hoodie with green trim, a baby blue t-shirt, and grey pants.

Watching the sun rise was one of the only things that kept him grounded, the only thing that reminded him why he was doing what he did. Why did he go undercover and lie, for information? To find out the truth for his village. Why did he steal scrolls and packages from others? To gather needed materials for his village. Why did he take others lives? To save the lives of his village.

To the village he was becoming known as a hero. To other villages, he was becoming Satan himself. Recently more and more battles have been breaking out across the lands and if Minato's guess was correct, by next year, in several months, the nations will be at war with each other, if things continued like this.

He had been too young to experience the horrors of the first one, being just a small child. However, this time he had no doubt that he will be experiencing everything first hand. But, that's not what worried him the most, no. U=It was the knowledge that his team was also old enough to be in this war.

They have been under his tutelage for over half a year now and were progressing well. However, that was the problem. During war, each side will need as many skilled hands as possible and if they ran out, then they would get desperate and begin sending out any and everyone to defend their territory.

Minato ran hand through his blonde hair and sighed. Thinking about these things, only served to stress him out more than he already was. He decided to take a stroll, while the village was still silent for the most part. As he walked, he thought about Obito again and his change over the last month.

_' He's still the same Obito. However, there's this undeniable change about him, with the way his approach towards Rin and Kakashi slightly changed. Also, there's the fact, that I've been seeing him leave the hospital, even when I know he's not in need of medical assistance. Maybe he's been visiting a patient?'_ thought Minato, as he tried to make sense of what's happening to his boisterous student.

His thoughts were soon discarded, when he felt a chakra signature, that he has been growing accustom to, near by. His blue eyes surveyed the area, until they saw a lone figure, lying at the base of a tree. The pink hair instantly stood out, against it's dark surroundings. As he neared, he realized she was asleep.

_' Why in the world is she sleeping out here?' _Minato thought, as he crouched down, only to be hit with a strong stench of alcohol._' Ah. So that's why.' _ She clearly got drunk last night and tried to make it home, obviously unsuccessful.

Minato was not sure what to do at this point. He couldn't take her home, because he did not know where she lived. He couldn't bring her back to his place on a count that she didn't even know him, so would most likely not be too thrilled to be in some random guy's home. If he woke her up, she'd either still be too tipsy or tired to make it home, however he couldn't just leave her all alone in the park.

He touched her hand, that was flat on the ground and realized she was cold, but considering she was out here all night, he was not shocked by this. Sighing, he took off his jacket and covered her, so that most of her form was under the fabric, before quickly teleporting to the nearest cafe.

Some coffee would be the best way to sober her up, as well as keep her up.

* * *

So, you guys finally got some interaction between Minato and Sakura. Even if it was nothing much, it will get better over time. Their relationship is only gonna develop from here, and trust me, I'll make sure to squeeze in some moments between the two, even before they get together.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


End file.
